Other Useful Links

Suggested Books and Readings
of Interest to People in Recovery

(When possible, I have linked the title of the books below with Amazon.com so that you can easily acquire them at a reasonable price.)

Stage II Recovery: Life Beyond Addictionby Earnie Larsen. This is the book for people who have been in recovery long enough to have worked the Steps through, at least once, and who are ready to deal with the rest of their lives now that substance abuse and addictions are no longer the issue. Definitely a companion book to my coaching.

Stage II Relationships: Love Beyond Addictionby Earnie Larsen. In the same mode as Stage II Recovery but in this book he takes that one chapter on relationships and gives it a full book treatment. Another companion to my relationships coaching.

Napkin Notes on the Art of Livingby G Michael Durst, Ph.D. The best self-help book on the market!” is the summation for all of the five-star ratings on Amazon. Although countless self-help books have been written, none have been able to translate psychological theory into practical, day-to-day application as well as this one does. By integrating Eastern and Western philosophy with science and religion, Napkin Notes provides a concise, easy-to-read guide for living. Dr. Durst promotes the concept that we are 100% responsible for everything in our experience and for our reactions to life’s events. This focus provides not only increased knowledge, but also the impetus to change. In so doing, it directs us to greater insight, satisfaction and fulfillment.

Actualizations: You Don’t Have to Rehearse to Be Yourselfby Stewart Emery Stewart Emery was one of the first people to lead EST training, and one of the founders of Actualizations, a supportive and loving workshop that helps people establish joyful relationships in their lives. The purpose of this book is to provide the groundwork for a complete transformation of its reader’s relationships—into sources of joy, satisfaction, and exhilarating personal growth. The philosophy described here will allow you to deepen not only your connection with others, but your understanding of yourself. Emery’s Actualizations will allow you to live life to its fullest—no reservation, or rehearsal, required!

Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom by William Glasser, M.D. Dr. Glasser offers a new psychology that, if practiced, could reverse our widespread inability to get along with one another, an inability that is the source of almost all unhappiness.

For progress in human relationships, he explains that we must give up the punishing relationship; destroying external control psychology. For example, if you are in an unhappy relationship right now, he proposes that one or both of you could be using external control psychology on the other. He goes further. And suggests that misery is always related to a current unsatisfying relationship. Contrary to what you may believe, your troubles are always now, never in the past. No one can change what happened yesterday.

Counseling with Choice Theory by William Glasser, M.D. In Counseling with Choice Theory, Dr. William Glasser takes readers into his consulting room and illustrates, through a series of conversations with his patients, exactly how he puts his popular therapeutic theories into practice.

These vivid, almost novelistic case histories bring Dr. Glasser’s therapy to life and show readers how to get rid of the controlling, punishing I know what’s right for you psychology that crops up in most situations when people face conflict with one another.

Practical and readable, Counseling with Choice Theory is Dr. Glasser’s most accessible book in years.

When The Shoe Fits: Stories of the Taoist Mystic Chuang Tzu by Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) This is one of my favorite practical philosophy books. “Only that which is attained through effortlessness will never be a burden to you.” That is the message of the renowned Indian philosopher Osho, one of the 10 people (others include Gandhi, Nehru, and Buddha) said to have changed the very destiny of his nation.

This previously little-known study—a true classic of interpretation—presents his distinctive and highly illuminating exploration of Taoism. Osho offers penetrating commentary on the stories of Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu, the tradition’s founder, as well as inspirational anecdotes on the quest for love, spiritual understanding, and true happiness. The powerful combination of Taoist wisdom and Osho’s insightful interpretation make this a true gem, appropriate for the growing audience interested in Eastern thought.

[Permission to reproduce this article is granted as long as this notice and the “About the Author and the copyright information is included.]

*About The Author*
Jason Wittman, MPS, LAADC, CATC-IV (aka Successful People’s Secret Weapon) is the former Executive Director of Los Angeles Youth Supportive Services, Inc. ( http://www.la-youth.org ) and has had a private practice as a Counselor and Coach for over 40 years. His practice, http://Stage2Recovery.com focuses on coaching and advising business and professional clients, who are recovering from alcoholism and addictions, to work and live at their exquisite best. He is an expert on teaching and coaching the “getting-on-living,” self-esteem building and spirituality parts of recovery. He has his master’s degree from Cornell University in counseling-psychology and is certified as a drug & alcohol counselor, a clinical hypnotherapist and a practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). He can be contacted at jason@stage2recovery.com or 213-804-4408